The CAT 2025 exam was conducted in 3 slots and has 3 sections each. Slot 3 DILR and Quant sections were difficult while the VARC section was easy across all 3 slots. Students planning on admission into top B-schools with no sectional cutoff must meet the overall cutoff criteria. With a CAT overall cutoff range between 80-90%, you may get calls from B-schools like IMT Ghaziabad and IMT Hyderabad.
You are also likely to get calls from top B-schools having no cutoff like IIT Delhi or IIT Madras if your overall marks are between 95+% to 98+%. These colleges also evaluate your overall profile including your 10th, 12th and graduation marks. To be able to crack the top B-schools with a low percentile, you must clear the interview with your best attempt. Having a score higher than the overall cutoff range for top B-schools like FMS Delhi, IMI Delhi, etc will help you get calls but the interview stage is also important.
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Average Scores for Top B-schools With ‘No’ Sectional Cutoff
To get an admission into top B schools which includes IIT MBA and IMT MBA, you will require a good overall CAT score. Sectional cutoffs are not released by IITs like IIT Delhi, Madras and Kharagpur. More B-schools like TAPMI, IRMA, MICA etc do not release the sectional CAT cutoff requirements. Based on the latest up to date available information, below is a table prepared for interested students to know the average score range of overall CAT cutoff accepted at top B schools in India.
| Average CAT Cutoff Percentile Range for Top B-schools | |
| Name of the College | Average Cutoff Range |
| IIT MBA | 90+%-98+%ile |
| IMT MBA | 80%-90%ile |
| Other B-schools | 80+%-99.5+%ile |
IIT MBA Without Sectional Cutoff
IITs are gaining popularity among the working professionals and younger population of India for MBA admission. IITs with no sectional cutoff provide a good platform for those students who may have scored low marks in 1 section of the CAT 2025 exam compared to the other. Section wise marks are not considered but the overall marks are important combined with the interview performance. Check the list of the best IITs in India with no sectional cutoff for CAT 2025.
| CAT Cutoff for IIT MBA Courses 2026 | |
| Name of the IIT | Overall CAT Cutoff |
| IIT Delhi | 98+%ile |
| IIT Madras | 95+%ile |
| IIT Kharagpur | 95%ile |
| IIT Roorkee | 95%ile |
| IIT Kanpur | 90+%ile |
IMTs with No Sectional Cutoff
Students can easily get a call from IMT Nagpur or IMT Hyderabad with an overall CAT cutoff above 80%. Will you receive a call for an interview from IMT Ghaziabad with a 90% overall CAT percentile? The chances are 50-50. Since the CAT exam 2025 was difficult compared to previous year papers, the CAT cutoff is expected to drop by 2-3 points. In case, the pool of applicants have a cutoff above 90%, your chances for a call are less but if the average cutoff of applications for IMT Ghaziabad is around 90%. You might have a chance to clear the interview and secure admission.
| IMT Colleges CAT Cutoff 2026 | |
| IMT College Name | CAT Cutoff |
| IMT Ghaziabad | 90%ile |
| IMT Hyderabad | 80%ile |
| IMT Nagpur | 80%ile |
B-school With No Sectional Cutoff In India
Will you get a call from FMS Delhi with a 99.5+% score? Yes. FMS Delhi accepts CAT 2025 scores above 99.5+%. With a lower percentile range between 97% to 98%, you will receive a call from IIM Rohtak as the expected qualifying cutoff for this B-school is 97% and there are no sectional cut off IIM requirements. Top B-schools with no sectional cutoff apart from FMS Delhi and IIM Rohtak are NIBM Pune, LBSIM, KJ Somiya, Welingkar and more.
| Top B-schools CAT Cutoff 2026 | |
| Name of the B-schools | CAT Cutoff |
| FMS Delhi | 99.5+%ile |
| IIM Rohtak | 97%ile |
| GLIM Chennai | 85%ile |
| IMI Delhi | 85+%ile |
| DSE Delhi | 95+%ile |
| IRMA | 85+%ile |
| MICA | 85+%ile |
| BITSoM | 90+%ile |
| GIM | 90+%ile |
| NIBM Pune | 94+%ile |
| TAPMI | 85+%ile |
| FORE | 80+%ile |
| LBSIM | 80+%ile |
| KJ Somaiya | 80+%ile |
| Welingkar | 80+%ile |
| BIMTECH | 80+%ile |
Does Sectional Cutoff Matter in CAT?
The CAT sectional cutoff is above the overall cutoff needed for admission into the college. Many top B-schools in India prefer a good sectional CAT cutoff while many others like TAPMI, FORE, Welingkar accept CAT overall percentile without any sectional cutoff requirements. Students with a low Quant, DILR or VARC cutoff may apply to the best B-schools in India including top IITs, IMTs and IIM colleges, without worrying about their section wise percentile.
- CAT sectional cutoff is the minimum score required for admission into some of the best colleges for MBA in India.
- Tier 1 colleges generally consider both overall and sectional cutoffs for admission.
- Top B-schools like IIT Delhi and KJ Somaiya accept students without sectional cutoffs.
- Other factors like academic profile and work experience matter along with the overall cutoff percentile.
- You must have a good academic background in your 10+2 and graduation course for admission into top B-schools without any sectional cutoff requirements.
